Colleges No Longer Welcome Free speech

As reported by the Associated Press today, free speech is no longer welcome or protected at many US colleges. Threatening violence, protesters prevented commentator and writer Ann Coulter from speaking at the University of Berkeley in April. This past Wednesday at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida, US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was shouted at, booed, and had backs turned to her by students that felt she did not understand “the importance of historically black schools.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a group that monitors free speech on campuses, said nearly 30 speeches have been prevented by protestors since the beginning of 2016. Students feel that free speech is not a protection, but rather a political weapon. In 2015, a survey conducted by Pew Research Center found that 40 percent of people ages 18 to 34 supported government censorship of statements offensive to minorities. Only 24 percent of people ages 51 to 69 agreed.